♪ hello and welcome to al jazeera, i'm tony harris. >> i believe the pretext of chemical weapons is false, baseless and groundless. >> syrian officials strongly deny engaging in chemical ware fehr, but the white house says there is no doubt. the obama administration says it will release intelligence linking the assad regime to the attack. and clearing the way to a future. california's 11-day old wildfire has charred more than 60 square miles inside yosemite

national park. ♪ and the obama administration seems determined to make military action against syria. the white house says there is no doubt that the president of syria authorized the use of chemical weapons against his own people nearly one week ago. the syrian government is challenging the obama administration to prove its accusations. >> we're all hearing the drums of war being beaten around us. if these countries are willing to launch an aggress against syria, i believe the pretext of chemical weapons is false, baseless and groundless. and i challenge them to produce any single piece evidence. >> the white house says it has that evidence. let's go to mike viqueira. mike, the white house is promising an intelligence

assessment by the end of the week. >> that's absolutely right. you heard secretary kerry talk about that today. and jay carney says we will see that intelligence assessment on exactly what happened and try to pinpoint exactly who used them. of course the un has inspectors there. that is not part of their mandate. they are not there to cast blame or responsibility. what we have seen here, tony over the last couple of days and including today, is the administration building a case for what will essentially be a punitive action to set an example of bashar al-assad for using those chemical weapons, violating what the white house calls international norms and what secretary kerry said yesterday was a moral obscenity.

the white house felt -- joe biden was speaking in houston, texas, he says there is no doubt that they were used, were these chemical weapons, and there is little doubt who used them. >> for we know that the syrian regime, the only ones who have the weapons have used chemical weapons multiple times in the past, have the means of delivering those weapons, have been determined to wipe out exactly the places that were attacked by chemical weapons. >> all indications point to a cruise missile attack of some sort, perhaps arias sets, allied arias sets as well. we don't know when or who, that coalition is still forming. we don't know what the end goal is. all we do know is what jay carney said today. we know what it's not.

>> we are also very much engaged in an effort to support the opposition in its struggle with the assad regime, as the assad regime continues to try to massacre it's a own people in an effort to maintain power. and it's our firm conviction -- [ inaudible ] but this deliberation and the actions that we are contemplating are not about regime change. >> of course two years ago, president obama called for assad to go, but that is not expressly the point of this operation. we know there is not going to be any american boots on the ground. in that has been specifically ruled out. we know the goal is not regime change. and it appears the goal is a punitive one. as we just talked about at the top here, tony, the intel report that the white house and secretary kerry promised, stay

tuned before the end of the week we expect to see that. >> can't wait to see that. while the white house is talk tough, un inspectors are still on the ground trying to gather evidence from last wednesday's attack. the first day was delayed by sniper fire. the un decides to delay more inspections until wednesday to improve preparedness and safety. joining us now is a former commander with the u.s. central command. >> tony nice to see you. >> yeah, what a pleasure. how likely is it that an attack will come before we get a formal report from the un inspectors? >> it seems pretty clear the administration is setting the stage for some kind of military activity. one of the challenges here, in my view, there are no good options, so given the pretty

pour hand that we have in terms of our ability to influence significantly things on the ground, i think what is being contemplated is a military message to make it very clear that we're not going to poll rate the use of chemical weapons, and i think at the same time, if there's an ability to take out the syrians' capability to use these things again, that would be something that would be desired. >> admiral what does no good options mean? does that mean there isn't an option that won't result in a spillover in the region? >> there's no good option in terms of nothing that is a clear choice that the outcome of which will be the result of resolving the situation in this area. it's far too complex for that. and the idea that we would put troops on the ground is highly unlikely, so i think the best

you can do is to try to exact as much as we can in the ability to remove their capabilities. there is going to be down sides. once we throw in some kind of military action, there will be lots of issues being raised from many sides. if we do nothing we appear to be totally impotent in the face of what is unconsciousable means used against other human beings, and if we do something, we're starting a road that could potentially lead to some escalation. >> was it a mistake for the president to make the statement about the red line being a game changer, a trigger to military action inside of syria? >> i don't think i would have a comment on that. the president's going to say what he thinks, but the challenge is that when you -- when you put something out there and people have a tendency to try to test it and

see if you are really serious. >> yeah, what are the likely targets in your estimation? i have heard some suggestions that maybe airfields, for example, might be a likely target. >> no idea. i wouldn't want to speculate. my sense would be try to confine it to something that's reasonably achievable, with some degree of success, and, you know, i would again probably be inclined to -- if there's a way to remove some of that chemical capability from their ability to use again, that would probably be a desired aim. whether it is possible or not, i don't know. >> syria is not without capabilities of its own, correct? >> oh, sure. they have lots of equipment, but there's been a lot of stress and frankly, we have seen israelis execute several strikes in the recent past that they managed to get in and get out, so it's certainly not going to be beyond our capability to do something.

the issue is what do you do after that? and if it is not effective or the thing escalated how prepared are we to do whatever we think needs to be done. >> you know this region really well. i know the region fairly well, but there's no way to predict what happens, how this could spread once this military action, should it move forward, takes place. >> yeah, i would be doubtful if it's a limited strike it will expand dramatically. but when you use military force in any manner, then you -- you are never quite sure what the reaction is going to be on the other side, and there are lots of actors here on many sides. we clearly wouldn't like to see assad continue in power, but the makeup of the opposition is so fragmented and there are some

known bad actors in that crowd, so that's the really dilemma. >> yeah, admiral fallen, thanks for your time. >> thanks, tony. the french president says france is ready to punish those responsible for the attack in syria. saudi arabia's foreign minister called for a decisive stand against syria, and the arab league called it a heinous crime against the syrian people. we will have updates throughout the evening on this matter and on aljazeera.com. the city of detroit is starting to undergo a major makeover. the governor announced a plan to demolish thousands of bankrupt homes. 60% of fires in the city are taking place in the dilapidated

and unoccupied buildings. >> we'll have safer neighborhoods, and then long term, there's an opportunity to redevelop. >> it will be the biggest blight elimination project in michigan's history. today is the first day of school for students in new town, connecticut. students are attending class in a neighboring town. the proposal to tear down and rebuild a school awaits approval of the residents. convicted fort hood nidal hasan has chosen not to take the stand in his sentencing trial. court is now in resource,

closing arguments are expected on wednesday, and jurors will decide between death or prison. heidi joins us from fort hood, and heidi, major hasan chose not to take the stand. that couldn't have come as much as a surprise. >> at this point, tony, not surprising at all. this afternoon they were back in the courtroom trying to make a final plea to the judge to allow them to take the reins back from hasan. they made a motion to submit a statement in hasan's stead. hasan objected to that, and the court ruled against the motion. it shows the length that this justice system is going to try to protect his rights. >> how likely it is that hasan will actually get the death penalty?

>> well, i think his stand-by counsel said it best when he said, quote, when life is not a consideration, there is only death. now the jury panel that will likely begin deliberating tomorrow doesn't have much to weigh. the scales of justice in this case don't actually exist, because there have been no mitigating circumstances at all presented in hasan's favor. we know he stated in the past that he would like to be martyred. so it would not come as a surprise for him to get this dae death penalty. we heard some moving testimony again today from the people that hasan tore loved ones away from. we heard from a mother who lost her 29-year-old daughter to this attack. a husband who lost his wife, and he turned to alcohol, he was

saying after her death, and now that he is sober, every time he gets a coin from his aa meetings he goes to arlington national cemetery and pushes it into his wive's grave. not a dry eye in the courtroom except for that of nidal hasan. >> heidi thank you. ♪ hello, again, i'm kevin corriveau, we have been talk about the flooding across the southwest. now this time of year it is monsoon season. i want to show you the images behind me. this is the rain we have seen across parts of nevada. you can see how low the visibility gets when the rain comes down. people who live here are fairly used to seeing the monsoon, but this rain has been enhanced by a storm down by baja, california.

the skies have been dark, and we don't really expect to see much of a change over the next day. rain showers still across the region. the monsoon is in effect. this will go on through september. we are going to see those rain showers through parts of nevada, arizona, utah, california. we'll keep you up to date through the rest of the evening on that. here across the central regions of the united states, it is hot due to an era of high-pressure. but we have thunderstorms up and around across parts of the great lakes. we'll be watching those as well through the evening. >> thank you, kevin. growing concern over a military response to syria, drives down stocks here in the united states, but it is not all bad news.

ali velshi will explain when we come back. and when we come back efforts to distinguish the rim fire around yosemite.

... s

... more news. ♪ ♪ >> and welcome back everyone, in business news stocks took another hit over the international community's reaction to the chemical weapons attack in syria. the dow tumbled 170 points, the steepest decline since june 20th. but there were a couple of bright spots, ali velshi will be talking more about this on "real money" at the top of the hour. ali, so there were some optimism out there? >> yeah, 170 points sounds like a lot, but this is a market that

has just been charging ahead this year. so it doesn't need too many reasons to pull back a little bit. it's all the last week of august. so i don't want anybody to read too much into it, but some investors are worried about what further involvement in syria means. and oil had its biggest gain in about a year and a half. but we have consumer confidence. and the great thing about that is i don't have to explain it to anybody. consumers are feeling more confident than they were a month ago. they are feeling good about this economy. and they have the case schiller home price index which shows for the 12th month in a row, housing prices are up. although they are up at a slightly slower pace in some markets than they have been before. and that's because interest rates have started to go up, so people are a little bit more worried about buying a house.

>> particularly the consumer confidence number, that's good news. does that mean we'll spend more? >> yeah, that's generally the translation. if you feel good about things now, you are more likely to make a type of decision that will benefit the economy, right? you'll buy something, go out for dinner, so yeah, generally speaking we want a strong consumer confidence number. we got it. it's not cloudy, but it's not per effect. but it's an economy. it is never really perfect. >> and two-thirds of the economy is fuelled by -- >> yeah, two-thirds of the economy is based on decisions that businesses and people make, so those decisions get cloudy, if you don't think things are good, you hold back, if you think things are good, you spending more. so i'll get into some of the nuance of it, particularly for the housing market. >> yes.

that and more with ali velshi, "real money" here at the top of the hour. can't wait. thank you, sir. there are 11 major wildfires burning in california, and at least 9,000 firefighters working around the clock. by far the most dangerous is the rim fire inside yosemite national park. katherine barrett is with us. katherine what is ahead for those exhausted crews? >> they are tired, not least because of this fire, but also because at this point in the season they have done a lot of fire fighting already. one firefighter told me this fire is like trying to eat elephant one bite at a time. but these crews are mostly holding their lines. the acreage has grown in some

areas that are very remote, but they have improved their contain in population centers. air command has deployed two moore c130 aircraft to fight the fire from overhead, though there was a lot of low smoke that could have made the -- targeting more difficult. >> tell us about the water on the reservoir, and the concern for the sequoias. >> there has been a lot of concern for the reservoir. there has been ash and soot falling into the water, but the water has been tested and confirmed that it is safe. and the see quias, as a precautionary pressure, park service have been digging around

the trees, and laying hoses and sprinklers to stop the fire. >> one more for you, how much concern is there about the fire moving further inside yosemite? >> well, they say that the direction in which it's moving even inside the park will send it into an area that is mostly granite and they expect that they should allow it to burn itself out. >> appreciate it. thank you, katherine. parts of southern california have been dealing with flash flooded. the storms have caused mud slides and closed several roads. one elderly woman was killed when her vehicle was caught in a flash flood. the city of phoenix was caught in a dust storm. no one was injured but there were reports of downed power lines and trees.

the monsoon season has produced massive dust storms in recent years. and high winds and rains have left at least 13 people dead in mexico. more than 12 inches of rain caused mud slides that buried many of the dead in their homes. it has now weekended as it moves through southern texas. ♪ >> and michael eaves is here now an update on the heisman trophy winner. >> yeah, johnny manzel wants to get back on the field, but this past sunday he faced six hours of question, allegations that he received cash payments for signing footballs and other memorabilia. he denied ever taking any money for his autograph.

one of the best players in soccer history has signed a new long-term deal. he has been considering a return to europe, but his substantial raise from the galaxy convinced him otherwise. and the farmer'sal man ak is predicting the first-ever super bowl to be held in the new york area will be a snowy and cold one. so it may be snowing during the actual game. the farmer's almanac claims 80% accuracy dating back to 1818. >> all right. michael, thank you. still ahead how iraq is coping with the flow of thousands of refugees arriving every day. and trying to understand and stop a meez -- measles outbreak

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♪ welcome back to al jazeera, i'm tony harris. here is a look at your headlines at this hour. the un investigation into a chemical attack. a un team was able to collect samples on tuesday. one of the largest wildfires in california history moved deeper into yosemite national park this morning. the blaze poses a real threat to more than 4500 homes in the area. meanwhile tests on the reservoir water serving san francisco is safe so far. and sentencing is now in the hands of the jury of nidal

hasan, as it decides death or life in prison. there is a team in damascus right now looking for evidence of chemical weapons. they are expected to resume on wednesday, but the obama administration says it is certain chemical weapons were used. al jazeera's james bays is at the united nations for us. james is there anything at this point that the united nations can do or is expected to do once it gets that report from the inspectors on the ground in damascus? >> i don't think the report is going to come out any time soon. i think it is going to take sometime. the inspectors had a mandate that allowed them to be in syria for 14 days. i think now the inspectors in many ways are going to be a

problem for the obama administration, because after months of being delayed, just as they started work, the obama administration i think has decided to go down a different route. it has decided the red line has been crossed, and with some partners is going to launch military action. that's why the inspectors might be a small problem, because i don't think they will want those inspectors there in the country if the bombing is to start in matter of days. i think there will be fears that there could be re percussions because of the inspectors. if you hear the inspectors are going to leave, that is probably because the u.s. has phoned the un and said get your people out. >> has there been any sort of general reaction to what appears

to be this line that has been crossed. it's not a question of if, but rather when some kind of military action will take place inside syria? >> i think that's what everyone is saying here. it's now just matter of time. you don't get these sort of words coming from the white house, the state department, coordinated with london and paris. they say there will be a response. no one is expecting a letter to damascus. everyone is expecting bombers and missiles. certainly all of the diplomats here are expecting it. >> james bays for us at the united nations. good to talk to you. who is bashar al-assad?

john terry has been finding out. >> bashar alah -- al-assad was never meant to be the leader of syria. his brother was meant to be the leader after his father died. but he was killed in an car accident. his father was particularly brutal. bashar was not expected to be as brutal as his father, though a third brother is often characterized that way. colin powell knows the president, and he says i have dealt with him and know him, and he is a pathological liar. he has support from his government, the military, the russians, and his religion. the aloites a secretive group.

and he has support of his powerful family. syria, you will gather is a complex country. regime change would open it up to al qaeda allied rebels. but the international community is clearly calling for a realation after last week's attack. and bashar al-assad is the one the message is inning tended for. last week alone nearly 40,000 arrived at a refugee camp in iraq. and refugees are angry and frustrated. >> reporter: imagine if this was your home for over 18 months. then imagine sharing it with 60,000 others. it's no wonder then that the

syrians living here are losing hope they will ever return home. as syria's war drags on, the initial relief felt by these refugees escaping the conflict have disappeared. there have been a few riots over the past few months. and the anger is easy to fine. as soon as we start filming, we're surrounded by people wanting to tell us how they feel. >> translator: we as syrian people aren't used to live like this. we would wrath gore back to syria and end our suffering here in this place. but we can't because of our children. they might be killed and raped in syria. this camp i'm in is all the fault of bashar al-assad, and the militia. >> workplaces have been secured, giving some parts of the camp a prison-like atmosphere. aid agencies are trying to

manage it the best they can. >> to deal with the long-term displacement psychological issues, we have tried to provide a sense of community as they manage their own life. we promote this community management. >> reporter: many of the refugees have taken up manual labor jobs to support themselves and their families. it allows them to guy groceries and other goods. so this place has the feel of a permanent town, but the more permanent it becomes, the more issues arise. this camp has a very different atmosphere from the ones that have just been set up for the newest refugees. here the sense of relief disappeared a very long time ago. there's a sense of anger now, and the longer they live like this, that anger is only going to get worse. >> and with any kind of solution still to be achieved, time

stands still for the refugees who try to make due as best they can. george zimmerman will ask the state of florida to cover some of his legal fees. he plans to file a motion to cover between 2 and $300,000 in legal fees. he was acquitted last month of all charges in the fatal shooting of trayvon martin last year. because zimmerman was acquitted, state law requires florida to pay all of his legal costs. farmers in colorado are fighting for their financial lives, and they are facing a triple threat. david shuster explains. >> as you can see out here this is what ground that does not have water looks like. barron, dry, the weeds don't even hardly grow here. >> reporter: in a normal year,

his fields are filled with the cantaloupes the region is famous for. >> roughly 75% of what we farm looks like this. we just do the best we can with what we have. we have a lot of people that count on us every year. >> reporter: casper is no stranger to dealing with drought. in the last year alone, t the -- agriculture sector took a hit of $700 million. but there is a threat to their long-term survival. >> colorado is always coming into a or going out of a drought. but we have reached the limit of the supply. we are splitting the pie up, and that's about money. >> reporter: director of the colorado water institute says the state's rapid population growth is the biggest menace.

>> we're going to be another 4 to 5 million people here, and none of them are calling up to see if there is water before they arrive. >> it's sad. and we're going to be in a pretty bad situation. >> reporter: the new heavyweight contender, frac-ing has joined the already crowded water fight in colorado. deep pocketed oil and gas interests have driven the cost of water far beyond the reach of farmers. >> farmers may pay 30, 40, $50, cities can put another zero on that, oil and gas, two more zeros. long term farmers may not be able to afford to stay in this market. >> reporter: doug flankeds say

many people exaggerate frac-ing using part. he says the industry has created tens of thousands of jobs and generated $1.6 billion in tax and other revenue for the state last year. big numbers agriculture cannot hope to match, facing a dry future this farmer fears more will be lost than just the economic bottom line. >> rural america supplies something socially. most people don't give it enough credit for. we're the morality, and work ethic that really has made this country great. >> reporter: david shuster, al jazeera. a measles outbreak in texas has been linked to a so-called mega church where ministers have questioned the use of vaccinations. at least 21 people have the illness right now. health officials and the church are trying to contain the

outbreak by hosting vaccination clinics. all of the outbreaks are linked to the church in texas. doctors say a visitor likely spread the measles virus to the community. joining us now is a professor of infection diseases. professor good to talk to you. >> hello, tony. >> a little one on one for all of us. how easily is measles passed along, and maybe particularly among the unvaccinated? >> well, measles is the most communicable virus that we know, so it is spread very readily, and if it is introduced into a group like this, where you have a lot of unvaccinated people, it will spread very, very quickly. i hate to use this term at the present time, but like wildfire. >> yeah, right.

when it is recommended to get vaccinated against measles. >> we routinely vaccinate our infants at about a year or year and a half of age, and that vaccination followed up by a second dose protects you for life. so we wished that all of these children and adults had been protected. >> what reasons do you hear or find for people going unvaccinated. >> well, what we hear is so people are concerned about autism. that whole issue has been put to rest. others are concerned about multiple vaccinations occurring simultaneously. we know that doesn't hurt the babies. there really aren't any good reasons why people should not be vaccinated, and i would think that this must pose an ethical quandary for the ministers in that church. they are putting their congregation, and these are

communicable diseases, indeed the entire community at risk. >> do you believe there is a growing trend of people going unvaccinated in the country? >> yeah, it's happening all across the country. pediatricians and family doctors are being asked about vaccinations and why they are important. and one of the reasons for that is paradox call we have done such a good job in vaccinating is that these diseases for all intents and purposes have disappeared. let's talk about measles for just a moment. your viewers will be stunned to learn before we had vaccines, 400 children in the united states each and every year died of measles and its complications. >> william staffner, professor, good to talk to you. what a pleasure.

thank you. >> good to be with you. thank you, tony. electronic cigarettes or e-cigarettes are actually dangerous. they contain a number of addictive chemicals and they are not as safe as manufacturers would have you believe. the editor of the magazine said they shouldn't be banned but regulated. a 12-year-old florida boy has died after suffering from a brain-eating ameba. he contracted a rare parasite while knee boarding. his body was kept alive to await organ recipients. there have been at least 31 reported cases of this type of infection since 2003. now florida is home to one of north america's richest marine ecosystems, but inside one lagoon hundreds of manatee and

battle nosed dolphins are dying. charles perez has our report. >> reporter: this is florida's indian river lagoon. a once pristine eeg logical area that recently has gone awry. >> there have been over 300 manatee that have died, and over 50 bottlenosed dolphin deaths within this past year in the same area, and about 250 to 30 pelicans died this past spring. >> reporter: the lagoon is on central florida's east coast. it's also home to more than a million people who have seen the sea life disappear as the population has increased. peter is a fisherman who has felt the impact firsthand. >> i still have a lovely view, but it's not teeming with fish,

with fisherman and kids water skiing. it's keep and flat and black, and most of it is dead. >> we have lost about 47,000 acres of sea grasses in the last two years. >> reporter: the sea grass is vital to the lagoon's ecosystem. >> they are known as the rain forests of coastal water bodies. >> reporter: politicians, scientists, and concerned citizens met to find out what is killing the lagoon's habitat. >> we're dumping billions of gallons of highly polluted water into our coastalest -

coastalest -- estuaries. >> reporter: the runoff broughts nitrogen rich contaminates, and it has likely caused an algae superbloom. state and federal officials have agreed on a four-point plan to begin looking for solutions. >> behind me are some white pvc pipes which mark a spot where scientists are transplanting sea grass to see if it will take. >> reporter: but unless they deal with the expected source of the contaminants their efforts might not work. and more animals and habitat will likely die. the reigning heisman trophy winner faces allegations of accepting cash for autographings. find out what we told investigators next with michael eaves in sports.

what happens when social media uncovers unheard and fascinating news stories? >> they share it on a stream.

stories go to our website, aljazeera.com. once again that's aljazeera.com. ♪ ♪ welcome back everyone. the first solar powered train may be small, but it could replace convention electric trains. well there it is, it's called the villi, it hit the tracks a few months ago in hungry. the engineers say it is a smile stone in rail services and could, could one day replace convention electric trains. it is one of the only zero emission vehicles of any type anywhere in the world. the outgoing secretary of homeland security is saying good-bye to her post. janet napolitano gave a farewell

speech on tuesday. she praised the federal government's response efforts to major events like last april's boston marathon bombings. >> the well-timed and coordinated emergency response that immediately followed the marathon attack was not accidental. it was the product of planning, training, and investment in building local and state capacity, and the comprehensive response by law enforcement, first responders, and the larger boston community on that day saved lives. >> she said she is confident the obama administration will continue to successfully fight against terror attacks. ♪ note to johnny football, it's time to play some football. >> it is. he would love to get on that football field right now instead of what we spent this past

weekend doing. during six hours of questioning, he denied ever taking any money for his autographs. allegations arose that the texas a&m quarterback received a 5-figure sum for signing his autograph. there is a gag order preventing them from publicly discussing the investigation. they host rice in their someone opener on saturday. the nfl instituted a rule several years ago designed to prevent players from diving at a quarterback's knees when they are in a defenseless position. nfl chief of football operations said today if the league's competition committee finds enough evidence that hits to the

knees are becoming a problem that the nfl could take action. robert griffin the third could be cleared in a game as early as thursday. that's when he is scheduled to meet with his surgeon. he declared himself 10 -- 100% recovered. tight end aaron hernandez wants his off season bonus money. and the player's union is trying to help him get it. he earned $80,000 in workout bonuses. the patriots have not paid any of those bonuses at the time of the murder of his friend. the nfl, the major league baseball aren't the only leagues handing down steroid related

fines. the australia football association has been fined millions as well. slow motion replays, now the english premier league has reacted. lee wellings has the story. >> just deciding how we could manipulate this watch. [ laughter ] >> reporter: arson wanger enjoyed his leek at the technology, but getting it right is a serious business. a goal needs to actually be a goal. the english premier league had pushed hard for the introduction of goal technology since 2006. and they are the first league in the world to use it. the system being used in english is made by hawk eye a familiar

and successful device in tennis and cricket. in football a complicated process has been made very simple. whether you are in the stadium you will be able to see it, and broadcasters here and around the world will able to see it as well. >> reporter: how does the system work. there are seven cameras at each end of the ground. i'm going to nudge the ball over the line, and within a second not only does it say goal, but it vibrates. so it's an instant accurate decision. there has been recent controversy over the device. fifa held out against technology until the 2010 world cup. but now have licensed four systems. german company goal control will be used in next year's world

cup. uefa president remains opposed to technology, and won't be using it in his competitions. but there is optimism more nations will be able to afford the technology. >> we recognize that this is not universally able to be applied today, but the cost of technology, we have all seen it in our homes and work lives, the cost of technology plummets. >> reporter: there were 31 incidents last year where the goal decision would have been used. there will still be plenty of debate, but no longer about whether the ball crossed the line. >> technology is coming into all facets of sports. >> oh, yeah. michael thank you. across the midwest it is heat not wintery weather that is

closing down the schools. from illinois, the dakotas, nebraska, and iowa. these kids are given pop circles and cups of ice to stay cool, and school nurses are on the lookout for any signs of heat exsanction. kevin is here next with your national forecast, and "real money" is at the top of the hour. good vibrations among consumers, but investors are shaking today about the u.s. getting involved in syria. oil prices jumped to an 18-month high, and stocks fell sharply. plus how 401k fees could set your retirement back by thousands of dollars.

♪ well the tropics are still active. no, we're not talking about the atlantic or caribbean, we're talk about the western pacific. this is the 14th storm of the season. look at all of the clouds we saw over the philippines. this storm is called kong-rey.

for taiwan you could see 10 to 14 inches of rain over the next few days. we'll keep you updated on that. back towards the united states, we're looking at very, very warm conditions right now across the region. rapid city is looking at 100 degrees, minneapolis is 94, when you factor in humidity, that's when you get the heat index, and it feels more like 102 degrees across this region. unfortunately this particular area across these states are going to stay like this at least through the end of the week, so stay inside during the middle of the day. that's a leek at your national weather. your headlines with tony are coming up next.

♪ welcome to al jazeera, i'm tony harris here are tonight's top stories. the white house says it is confident syria used chemical weapons against its own people. hundreds were reportedly killed last week. the president called the british prime minister again today to discuss the situation. the un team was able to collect samples on monday, despite first coming under gunfire from a sniper. one of the largest wildfires in california history has moved deeper into yosemite national park, and covers